ABCNJ Hosts Ordination Candidates

The ABCNJ staff and the Committee on Professional Ministries and Church Relations hosted its first Introduction to ABCNJ Life on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at the ABCNJ offices. We were delighted to host 12 ordination candidates from around the region.

As we like to say, an essential part of the ABCNJ ordination preparation and journey is “getting to know your family.” Although we can live without each other, we have chosen to live with each other and be part of the family called the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey. One basis of Baptist life has always been the belief that believers are never believers alone but bound together in a covenant community. 

The ordination journey is a beautiful example of a community bound together in covenant. It is a relational journey that begins with God, the local church, and the wider denominational family. 

The day was filled with the Holy Spirit breathing life and fire in our conversations, prayers, and new relationships. The candidates left strengthened, encouraged, and with an appreciation of the importance of being in a covenant relationship with ABCNJ. We can do more for the kin-dom of God together than apart!